"God be merciful to us & bless us, & cause His face to shine upon us. That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad & sing for joy!"

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Mike the Author

Sunday, June 18, 2017

"Holy Father, the Benchmark of All Fatherhood..." 18 June 2017

Jesus told us, “You did not choose me, but I
chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your
fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in
my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15.16). Let us pray:

Holy Father, you who are the benchmark, the
high water mark of all true fathering: we are grateful for our fathers,
especially when their firm love and care reverberated harmoniously with the
melody of your own fatherhood. Help us to rightly honor our fathers and their
memories. For those fathers in our lives who missed the mark – or worse – grant
them to find you a true Father in Jesus Christ; repair that which they scarred
or marred or broke, and heal the wounds. For the fathers in our fellowship we
ask you to guide us by your fatherly hand that we will be – more and more – a
noble and wholesome reflection of you to our children, whether they are still
at home or out on their own.

Lord God of Hosts, the whole earth is filled
with your glory; for the welfare of all throughout the world we beg you to
restrain the brutality and viciousness skulking around or running rampant in
the nations; we ask you to arm the leaders – such as President Andrej
Kiska of Slovakia; President Borut Pahor of Slovenia; and
Governor-General of Solomon Islands, Sir Frank Kabuiwith – arm
them with the tools, desire and ability to establish and enforce real justice
and integrity that all people may enjoy tranquility, prosperity, health and
life.

Mighty God, please keep us from slipping back
into drought conditions; and please send all the necessary rain to this region.
Also, watch over and direct our State; our leaders like State Representatives Cory
Williams; Rande Worthen; Harold Wright; and George Young; our finances;
our prisons and detention centers; our schools and universities; our farms and
industry. We also pray for the air ambulances around the city. Preserve and
protect the flyers and paramedics who travel in them. May the helicopters be
kept in tip-top shape as they fly over the state providing important emergency
services.

Lord God, we know you watch over your church,
and so we join together beseeching you to preserve your people, specifically
where their lives are threatened and their livelihoods are in peril. Show these
brothers and sisters your gracious kindness, and set your angels around them as
ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1.14).

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we
pray for this congregation; Waterloo Road Baptist church; Waterloo Road
Church of Christ; Western Avenue Baptist Church; Western Oaks Christian Church;
and Westminster Presbyterian Church. May we all be filled with
the Spirit of truth who will lead us into all truth; who will build up and
reinforce what is holy, good, and right; who will retrieve us from where we may
have gone off the tracks; and who will ensure that the Gospel of Jesus Christ
is our central focus. May we be filled with the Spirit of truth (John 16.13)!

We ask you to
protect our own people who are traveling for vacation, going to camps, heading
off to meetings in other places. Preserve them and bring them back safely. And we
pray for those in our church fellowship, those among our friends and those in
our families, who are dealing with death; experiencing pain; undergoing medical
treatments; (…). We implore your consoling care for them, bringing them health,
or peace, or comfort as needed, while also lifting their hearts that knowing
you have never left them nor forsaken them they may rejoice in your goodness and
sing your praises. All we ask in confidence of our Lord’s promise. Amen.